I Just Want Players to Save Money, They Insist on Giving Me!
Chapter 207 - 92: The staff are all blown away! Why is this farming game so awesome?_1

Chapter 207: Chapter 92: The staff are all blown away! Why is this farming game so awesome?_1

The opportunity was in hand, and Ke Jin didn’t dawdle, taking a flight straight back to Jianglin.

Aid-the-farmers theme, with a pastoral style.

Isn’t that just like a farming game that has never appeared on Blue Star?

The answer was already on the tip of his tongue.

"Stardew Valley"!

This game was a kind of oddity.

Although it was not the originator of farming games, and even the popularization of farming games didn’t quite relate to it.

Moreover, it possessed the pixel art style that many players would dismiss at a glance.

But as a farming game developed by an independent game designer all on his own, it incorporated nearly all the features that exist in farming games, taking the best of each and leaving out the worst.

As a small-scale pixel farming game without the backing of a major studio and not of 3A caliber, it still sold over 10 million copies in four years.

This was proof enough of its deep-seated quality.

But Ke Jin had previously not even dared to look at this game.

After all, such a market-tested game had no equivalent on Blue Star.

If he were to release it, it was bound to be a massive hit.

It clashed with his Zodiac sign, so it was off-limits to him.

But as the saying goes, what goes around comes around.

Endorsed by the regulatory agency, and even for free.

If not now, when?

At first glance, offering it entirely for free seemed like a loss.

But considering the game’s relatively low production costs, the financial investment wouldn’t be too substantial.

And with so many major IP blockbusters in Ke Jin’s hand, once the restrictions were lifted, he could just release any one of them.

Forget four years, he would sell you ten million copies in one year!

Once he made up his mind, Ke Jin unlocked "Stardew Valley" right there on the plane.

This time, however, unlocking it took a bit more effort.

He initially entered the keywords "farming" and "leisure".

What popped up was the once extremely popular "Happy Farm".

However, as a web browser game, it was somewhat a tear of times past.

If he really brought "Happy Farm" to life, it would be free, sure, but whether it could align with contemporary netizens’ internet surfing habits was another matter.

There were requirements for this farming aid too, Ke Jin heard from Chang Detai, something about needing to help farmers sell 50,000 boxes of fruits and vegetables.

That was the task assigned to the game industry.

The type didn’t matter, as long as 50,000 boxes were sold, the China Broadcasting Bureau had a backend data system that could see from which entry point the purchasing users came.

Chang Detai boasted to Ke Jin in a hushed tone, saying it was a quota he had fought hard to get.

The neighboring Advertising Administration Bureau started with a quota of 200,000 boxes.

The live commerce sector was even more ridiculous, with a direct task of 500,000 boxes.

If they couldn’t sell them, they would just deduct it from the civil servants’ performance bonuses.

For this matter, Ke Jin could only say, "Well done!"

A group of institution folks with iron rice bowls, living off taxes paid by the people, had to do something for the people.

However, this meant.

The requirement of 50,000 boxes was not too few, but not too many either, yet "Happy Farm" couldn’t be guaranteed to meet it.

To be on the safe side, Ke Jin decided to re-randomize it.

After careful deliberation.

He entered new keywords.

"Green hat" "267".

Alright, alright, alright, this time it’s correct!

"Congratulations, you have obtained the SS-grade farming game planning scheme—’Stardew Valley’!"

Ke Jin found Brother Tong Zi to be quite crafty.

Just talking about the overall ranking of "Stardew Valley" among all games.

It certainly wouldn’t make it into the SS tier.

After all, there are plenty of great games on the market, and there’s no shortage of pioneering ones either.

If you insist on cramming "Stardew Valley" into a general SS category, Ke Jin would be the first to stand up and criticize.

But Brother Tong Zi was sly in one particular way.

He marked a sub-category.

It was in the farming genre that it was ranked SS.

Just like "Hollow Knight" was ranked SS among 2D action platformer games before.

Hey, that left Ke Jin without a complaint.

Within that narrow sub-category, indeed, "Stardew Valley" was at the pinnacle.

But the system didn’t cap this limit; it didn’t directly award SSS tier, it left some leeway, which indicated there were higher levels yet.

After all, it didn’t know how the host felt about this game.

If the game it provided was disliked by the host, or even despised for life, and it marked it as SSS tier.

Wouldn’t that be leading the host to just slack off?

"Ah, poor Brother Tong Zi, working his heart out for this family," thought Ke Jin, who couldn’t help but sigh for Brother Tong Zi internally.

The strange experiences it went through could be compiled into a best-selling light novel once it returned to System Nebula.

The title would be: "As an Exotic Knight, I Must Be Careful Every Day to Prevent My Host From Slacking Off."

Other systems would love this title, they’d transform into happy spectators; one after another, they would shout, "Good read, love it, update more!" "Can’t sleep at night, even the production brigade’s donkeys don’t take such breaks!"

Brother Tong Zi, go ahead and publish boldly when you return, I’ll buy the first copy!

And rest assured!

Your host, ah, I have truly grown up this time!

A mature host is now learning to move with the help of fate.

This time, the advantage is mine!

————

"Have you heard... Mr. Ke seems to have taken a collaborative project from the regulatory agency to develop a game with an aid-the-farmers theme,"

Even before Ke Jin’s plane landed, the news had already quietly spread throughout First Player.

The gaming circle isn’t tiny but isn’t huge either; there are colleagues and friends working at other companies.

Once the news about Ke Jin’s outcome was released, it was bound to spark discussion amongst the designers at the big companies.